The two youths darted back and fourth amid the lines on the long, narrow, concrete surface, jabbing their swords toward each other. Occasionally jumping up and down, slightly off the ground as their intensity increased, eventually one would charge the other, trying to make contact with the tip of the sword and the protective clothing covering the other person's body. To the average onlooker, unable to see the tiny, rounded covering at the end of their sword, or epee, they were sword fighting. And St. Joseph's High School senior Danny Rudzinski, a three-year fencer at the Indiana Fencing Academy in downtown Mishawaka, has no problem with reducing his sport of fencing to that simple thought. "It's so much fun," Rudzinski said. "Who doesn't want to play with swords." At least two other students at St. Joseph's feel the same way. Fencing national champion Josh Dolezal, a freshman, and Renula Mitra, also a freshman, are also members of the Escrime du Lac team that operates out of the Indiana Fencing Academy. "It's really a fun sport," said Mitra, who first tried it at Stanley Clark School. "I tried it there and I really liked it." "I love it," Rudzinski said. "Technically, it's so much more a mental sport. There's a lot of strategy involved and stuff, but it is not overwhelming to the point that where you can't enjoy it and be free and do creative things. "I think that's why it's so much fun. It's always evolving." For Dolezal, who is in his fourth year of fencing and already owns 14-under and 16-under national championships, it's not only fun, but a sport at which he excels. Former Notre Dame assistant coach Zoltan Dudas, who coaches at the academy and soon will be leaving the area to head up the Princeton University program, says Dolezal might have reached the NCAA fencing tournament finals this year had he been in college. "He's dedicated and very talented," Dudas said. "He's got pretty quick reflexes and very good ability to analyze the action. He's a very, very talented kid." Dolezal, a 6-foot-3, 160-pounder, coyly admits, "I am pretty fast." He says when he first started out, he only came to the academy once in a while. "But then my coach pushed me to keep practicing and go to as many tourneys as I could because he really thought I had a lot of potential," Dolezal said. "I would go and work on my technique anywhere I would go." The sport is like no other, the trio says. "It's way different than any other sport," said Rudzinski, who plays lacrosse as well. "It's not running or anything. There's a lot of waiting and preparation. It's more endurance than anything." It's harder in some aspects than many other sports, said Dolezal. "One thing that is harder is it's completely you," he said. "A lot of sports you are with a team, you come up with tactics where you are not always involved. But in this you always have to be 100 percent concentrating. "You always have to know what you are doing and plan what you are going to do." Plus, it can be physical, Mitra adds. "There's a lot of jumping up and down and quick sprints and even some running into your opponent," Mitra said, "but they are more sprint-like, called the flash, where you are charging into your opponent. So in that way it's pretty physically trying." All on a 14-meter by 2-meter strip. Yes, there's plenty of clanging of the steel swords. Protective gear covers the hands, arms and chest. And the helmet has a screen that the sword's tip cannot fit through. Still fencers do get bumps, bruises and even cuts. They also learn responsibility, Dudas said. "You can learn a lot," he said. "It's all your responsibility. You can't blame your teammates. "It's just you facing the opponent. If you can learn sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, it can be pretty beneficial to life." Rudzinski suggests anyone interested at all should give fencing a try. "They will probably love it," he said. "Even if you do it only once, it's definitely worth the experience."Staff writer Jim Meenan: jmeenan@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6342